Broadcasting receiving apparatus with power consumption saving function

ABSTRACT

If it is determined that a current time when a power switch is operated manually is equal to or close to a reservation time indicated by preset reservation time data, a power source automatically starts supplying a power source current to individual circuits of a broadcasting receiving apparatus main body. Otherwise, supply of a power source current to the individual circuits is not performed. This prevents a receiving unit from unnecessarily receiving a broadcasting electric wave. When completion of broadcasting of all broadcasting contents of a broadcasting program is detected, the power source stops supplying the power source current to the individual circuits of the broadcasting receiving apparatus main body. This also prevents the receiving unit from unnecessarily receiving a broadcasting electric wave.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a broadcasting receiving apparatus suchas a teletext broadcasting receiving apparatus, a televisionbroadcasting receiving apparatus, or a radio broadcasting receivingapparatus and, more particularly, to a broadcasting receiving apparatuscapable of saving power consumption of the overall apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

A broadcasting receiving apparatus with a so-called timer reservationfunction is conventionally known. In this apparatus, the broadcastingstart time of a given broadcasting program is set in a memory. When theset broadcasting start time is reached, a power source current isautomatically supplied to individual circuits of a main body of thebroadcasting receiving apparatus, thereby receiving a broadcastingelectric wave by a receiving unit.

Such a conventional broadcasting receiving apparatus with a timerreservation function, however, still requires some improvements.

That is, once a listener or viewer sets a timer reservation in thisconventional broadcasting receiving apparatus with a timer reservationfunction, a power source is automatically switched on even if thelistener or viewer is absent or he or she does not want to switch on thebroadcasting receiving apparatus for some reason despite his or herearlier reservation. The apparatus automatically performs thisunnecessary processing which consumes power against the will of theuser. Therefore, the user must cancel the timer reservation each time heor she wants to prevent switching on of the broadcasting receivingapparatus when it is unnecessary to switch on the apparatus any more,resulting in poor operability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to solve the above conventionalproblem.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide abroadcasting receiving apparatus capable of saving power consumption ofthe overall apparatus.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a broadcastingreceiving apparatus capable of saving power consumption of the overallapparatus and capable of automatically selecting a broadcasting programof interest without causing a user to perform any cumbersome channelselect manipulation.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide abroadcasting receiving apparatus capable of saving power consumption ofthe overall apparatus and capable of immediately and reliably informinga user of completion of a broadcasting program.

In order to achieve the above objects, one arrangement of the presentinvention comprises receiving means capable of receiving a broadcastingelectric wave, setting means capable of setting, as reservation timedata, a broadcasting start time of a broadcasting program to bebroadcasted by means of the broadcasting electric wave received by thereceiving means, current time counting means for counting a currenttime, power source means for supplying a power source current toindividual circuits of a broadcasting receiving apparatus main bodyincluding the receiving means, power switching means capable of beingoperated manually, determining means for determining, when the powerswitching means is operated manually, whether the current time countedby the current time counting means is equal to or close to thereservation time indicated by the reservation time data set by thesetting means, and control means for controlling, when the determiningmeans determines that the current time is equal to or close to thebroadcasting start time, the power source means to automatically startsupply of a power source current to the individual circuits of thebroadcasting receiving apparatus main body and the receiving means toreceive a broadcasting electric wave.

Another arrangement of the present invention comprises receiving meanscapable of receiving broadcasting electric waves, channel selectingmeans for selecting a broadcasting electric wave of one broadcastingstation from the broadcasting electric waves received by the receivingmeans, setting means capable of setting channel number data indicating abroadcasting station to be selected by the channel selecting means andreservation time data indicating a reservation time at which thebroadcasting station indicated by the channel number data is to beselected, current time counting means for counting a current time, powersource means for supplying a power source current to individual circuitsof a broadcasting receiving apparatus main body including the receivingmeans, power switching means capable of being operated manually,determining means for determining, when the power switching means isoperated manually, whether the current time counted by the current timecounting means is equal to or close to the reservation time indicated bythe reservation time data set by the setting means, and control meansfor controlling, when the determining means determines that the currenttime is equal to or close to the broadcasting start time, the powersource means to automatically start supply of a power source current tothe individual circuits of the broadcasting receiving apparatus mainbody and the channel selecting means to automatically select thebroadcasting station indicated by the channel number data set by thesetting means.

Still another arrangement of the present invention comprises receivingmeans capable of receiving broadcasting electric waves, channelselecting means for selecting a broadcasting electric wave of onebroadcasting station from the broadcasting electric waves received bythe receiving means, setting means capable of setting, as reservationdata for each broadcasting station, channel number data indicating abroadcasting station to be selected by the channel selecting means andreservation time data indicating a reservation time at which thebroadcasting station indicated by the channel number data is to beselected, current time counting means for counting a current time, powersource means for supplying a power source current to individual circuitsof a broadcasting receiving apparatus main body including the receivingmeans, power switching means capable of being operated manually, firstdetermining means for determining, when the power switching means isoperated manually, whether the current time counted by the current timecounting means is equal to or close to the reservation time indicated bythe reservation time data of one of a plurality of pieces of reservationdata set by the setting means, first control means for controlling, whenthe first determining means determines that the current time is equal toor close to the broadcasting start time, the power source means toautomatically start supply of a power source current to the individualcircuits of the broadcasting receiving apparatus main body and thechannel selecting means to automatically select a broadcasting stationindicated by the channel number data of the corresponding reservationdata, second determining means for determining, when the firstdetermining means determines that the current time is not equal to norclose to the broadcasting start time, whether the current time is equalto or close to a reservation time indicated by reservation time data ofany one of a plurality of pieces of reservation data other than thepreceding reservation data, and second control means for controlling,when the second determining means determines that the current time isequal to or close to the reservation time indicated by reservation timedata of another one of a plurality of pieces of reservation data, thepower source means to automatically start supply of a power sourcecurrent to the individual circuits of the broadcasting receivingapparatus main body and the channel selecting means to automaticallyselect a broadcasting station indicated by the channel number data ofthe corresponding reservation data.

Still another arrangement of the present invention further comprisesthird control means for controlling, when the second determining meansdetermines that the current time is not equal to nor close to areservation time indicated by reservation time data of any of aplurality of pieces of reservation data, the channel selecting means toautomatically select a broadcasting station set before the power sourcemeans starts supplying a power source current.

Still another arrangement of the present invention comprises receivingmeans capable of receiving a broadcasting electric wave, setting meansfor setting broadcasting start time data indicating a broadcasting starttime of a broadcasting program to be broadcasted by means of thebroadcasting electric wave received by the receiving means, powerswitching means capable of being operated manually, current timecounting means for counting a current time, power source means forsupplying a power source current to individual circuits of abroadcasting receiving apparatus main body including the receivingmeans, determining means for determining, when the power switching meansis operated manually, whether the current time counted by the currenttime counting means is equal to or close to the broadcasting start timeindicated by the broadcasting start time data set by the setting means,power supply starting means for starting supply of a power sourcecurrent from the power source means to the individual circuits of thebroadcasting receiving apparatus main body when the determining meansdetermines that the current time is equal to or close to thebroadcasting start time, broadcasting completion detecting means fordetecting, when the power supply starting means starts supply of a powersource current, whether broadcasting of all broadcasting contents of abroadcasting program broadcasted by means of the broadcasting electricwave received by the receiving means is completed, and power supplystopping means for stopping supply of a power source current from thepower source means to the individual circuits of the broadcastingreceiving apparatus main body when the broadcasting completion detectingmeans detects that broadcasting of all the broadcasting contents of thebroadcasting program is completed.

Still another arrangement of the present invention further comprisesbroadcasting content storing means for sequentially storing thebroadcasting contents of the broadcasting program broadcasted by meansof the broadcasting electric wave received by the receiving means whenthe power supply starting means starts supply of a power source current.

Still another arrangement of the present invention further comprisesbroadcasting content storing means for sequentially storing, when thepower supply starting means starts supply of a power source current, allbroadcasting contents of the broadcasting program broadcasted by meansof the broadcasting electric wave received by the receiving means untilbroadcasting of all the broadcasting contents is completed.

Still another arrangement of the present invention further comprisesinforming means for informing completion of broadcasting of allbroadcasting contents when the broadcasting completion detecting meansdetects that broadcasting of all the broadcasting contents of thebroadcasting program is completed.

Still another arrangement of the present invention further comprisesinforming means for informing completion of storage of all broadcastingcontents when the broadcasting content storing means completely storesall the broadcasting contents of the broadcasting program broadcasted bymeans of the broadcasting electric wave received by the receiving means.

Still another arrangement of the present invention comprises receivingmeans capable of receiving a broadcasting electric wave, setting meansfor setting broadcasting start time data indicating a broadcasting starttime of a broadcasting program to be broadcasted by means of thebroadcasting electric wave received by the receiving means, powerswitching means capable of being operated manually, current timecounting means for counting a current time, power source means forsupplying a power source current to individual circuits of abroadcasting receiving apparatus main body including the receivingmeans, determining means for determining, when the power switching meansis operated manually, whether the current time counted by the currenttime counting means is equal to or close to the broadcasting start timeindicated by the broadcasting start time data set by the setting means,power supply starting means for starting supply of a power sourcecurrent from the power source means to the individual circuits of thebroadcasting receiving apparatus main body when the determining meansdetermines that the current time is equal to or close to thebroadcasting start time, broadcasting content storing means forsequentially storing, when the power supply starting means starts supplyof a power source current, all broadcasting contents of the broadcastingprogram broadcasted by means of the broadcasting electric wave receivedby the receiving means until broadcasting of all the broadcastingcontents is completed, broadcasting completion detecting means fordetecting whether the broadcasting content storing means stores all thebroadcasting contents of the broadcasting program broadcasted by meansof the broadcasting electric wave received by the receiving means, andpower supply stopping means for stopping supply of a power sourcecurrent from the power source means to the individual circuits of thebroadcasting receiving apparatus main body when the broadcastingcompletion detecting means detects that broadcasting of all thebroadcasting contents of the broadcasting program is completed.

Still another arrangement of the present invention further comprisesinforming means for informing completion of broadcasting of all thebroadcasting contents when the broadcasting completion detecting meansdetects that broadcasting of all the broadcasting contents of thebroadcasting program is completed.

Still another arrangement of the present invention further comprisesinforming means for informing completion of storage of all broadcastingcontents when the broadcasting content storing means completely storesall the broadcasting contents of the broadcasting program broadcasted bymeans of the broadcasting electric wave received by the receiving means.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectsand advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means ofthe instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate presently preferred embodiments ofthe invention, and together with the general description given above andthe detailed description of the preferred embodiments given below, serveto explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of abroadcasting receiving apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a keyboard of the broadcasting receivingapparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the stored contents of a memory shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining a reserved channel selectingoperation performed by a CPU shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a timing chart for explaining the condition of reservedchannel selection;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a broadcasting receiving apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a keyboard of the broadcasting receivingapparatus shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view showing the stored contents of a memory shown in FIG.6;

FIG. 9 is a view showing the stored contents of a data header in thememory shown in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of a CPU shown inFIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail belowwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 5 are views showing one embodiment of a broadcastingreceiving apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a broadcasting receiving apparatus 1according to the embodiment of the present invention. The broadcastingreceiving apparatus 1 comprises a receiving unit 2, an output unit 3, aCPU (Central Processing Unit) 4, a memory 5, a clock generator 6, afrequency divider 7, a keyboard 8, and a power source 9.

The power source 9 converts power supplied from an external power sourceor a battery (not shown) into a predetermined DC voltage and suppliesthe voltage to the individual circuits of the broadcasting receivingapparatus 1. The power source 9 receives a control signal from the CPU 4and starts or stops supply of the power to the individual circuits,particularly the receiving unit 2 and the output unit 3, in accordancewith the input control signal.

The receiving unit 2 constituting a broadcasting receiving meanscomprises an antenna, a tuner, a detector, and the like. The antennareceives a broadcasting electric wave, and the tuner tunes to anelectric wave having a predetermined frequency from the broadcastingelectric waves received by the antenna, thereby extracting a signalhaving a frequency of a predetermined channel. The detector performsdemodulation and detection for the signal with a frequency of apredetermined channel extracted by the tuner, thereby extracting abroadcasting signal. The extracted broadcasting signal is sent to theoutput unit 3.

When the broadcasting receiving apparatus 1 is a television set, theoutput unit 3 is constituted by a cathode-ray tube (CRT) or a liquidcrystal display (LCD), a control circuit for the CRT or LCD, and a voiceoutput device such as a loudspeaker. When the broadcasting receivingapparatus 1 is a radio, the output unit 3 is constituted by a voiceoutput device such as a loudspeaker and a control circuit for thedevice.

The CPU 4 comprises, e.g., a microprocessor, a ROM (Read-Only Memory),and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The ROM stores programs of thebroadcasting receiving apparatus 1, selectable channel numbers, andfrequencies corresponding to the channel numbers. The RAM is used as awork memory. The microprocessor controls the individual circuits of thebroadcasting receiving apparatus 1 in accordance with the programsstored in the ROM and causes them to function as the broadcastingreceiving apparatus 1. The ROM incorporated in the CPU 4 storesfrequencies of broadcasting electric waves corresponding to individualchannels. When a certain channel number is designated from the keyboard8 (to be described later), the CPU 4 instructs the correspondingfrequency to the receiving unit 2 and in this manner causes thereceiving unit 2 to receive a broadcasting signal of the correspondingchannel number.

As shown in FIG. 2, the keyboard 8 constituting an external operatingmeans comprises a ten-key pad 11 for selecting a channel number orentering a reservation time, volume keys 12 and 13 for controlling avolume, a power key 14 for switching on/off the power source, a set key15 for designating setting of a reservation mode and setting ofreservation data into the memory 5, a mode switch key 16 for performingswitching between a time mode and a channel mode, and a scroll key 17for selectively scrolling a channel number or a time. Mode switchingbetween a time and a channel number is performed by the mode switch key16. When the channel mode is set, a given channel number can be selectedby manipulating the ten-key pad 11. When the time mode is set, areservation time can be entered by manipulating the ten-key pad 11. Theentered time and channel number are displayed on a CRT or an LCD in theoutput unit 3 under the control of the CPU 4. If the input reservationtime and reservation channel number are appropriate, they can beregistered in the memory 5 (to be described later) by depressing the setkey 15. The power source of the broadcasting receiving apparatus 1 canbe switched on/off by manipulating the power key 14.

The memory 5 is constituted by a RAM and the like and stores data of aprogram to be reserved. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the memory 5 storesa plurality of pieces of data of programs to be reserved each of whichis a set of a channel number and a start time and an end time of abroadcasting program designated by the channel number.

In order to register data of a program to be reserved into the memory 5,the set key 15 is depressed to set the reservation mode, and the ten-keypad 11 is manipulated to enter a reservation time (a reservation starttime and a reservation end time). Thereafter, the set key 15 isdepressed again to instruct registration of the reservation time intothe memory 5. When the registration of the reservation time iscompleted, the mode switch key 16 is depressed to switch the mode to thechannel mode, and a channel number to be reserved is entered by theten-key pad 11. When the input of the channel number to be reserved iscompleted, the set key 15 is depressed to instruct registration of thechannel number to be reserved into the memory 5. Registration of data ofa program to be reserved can be performed by this registering operation.In order to successively perform registration of data of a program to bereserved, the scroll key 17 is depressed. As a result, a registrationcondition for the next data of a program to be reserved is set, and thenext data can be registered by executing the operation as describedabove. When registration of the data of a program to be reserved iscompleted, the set key 15 is depressed to return to a normal channelselect mode.

The clock generator 6 is a so-called quartz oscillator constituted by,e.g., a quartz crystal, resistors, and capacitors. The clock generator 6generates a clock signal having a predetermined frequency.

The frequency divider 7 is constituted by, e.g., assembling severalstages of binary counters. The frequency divider 7 divides a frequencyof the input clock signal from the clock generator 6 to generate a 1-Hzclock signal usable as a reference signal for a timepiece and suppliesthe generated clock signal to the CPU 4. The CPU 4 counts a current timein accordance with the input clock signal from the frequency divider 7and supplies the current time data to the output unit 3. The CPU 4 alsouses the current time in program reservation processing (to be describedlater). Therefore, the CPU 4, the clock generator 6, and the frequencydivider 7 function as a timepiece means for counting a current time.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

The broadcasting receiving apparatus 1 constantly counts a current timeand uses the current time in the program reservation processing (to bedescribed later). The current time can also be sent to the output unit 3and displayed or provided as a voice output.

That is, while the power source is kept OFF by the ON/OFF key 14 of thekeyboard 8, the CPU 4 of the broadcasting receiving apparatus 1 counts acurrent time in accordance with the input clock signal from thefrequency divider 7 and supplies data of the current time to the outputunit 3 at each predetermined timing. The output unit 3 informs a user ofthe input current time data in the form of a predetermined output, e.g.,a voice output or a display output.

In this power-OFF condition, if the power ON/OFF key 14 of the keyboard8 is turned on, the CPU 4 performs program reservation processing asshown in FIG. 4.

That is, in the power-OFF condition, the CPU 4 serves as a determiningmeans and determines whether the power ON/OFF key 14 is depressed toswitch on the power source (step S1). If the power source is switchedon, the CPU 4 supplies a control signal C (e.g., a signal of "H")instructing an ON operation to the power source 9. Upon receiving thecontrol signal C instructing an ON operation, the power source 9supplies power to the receiving unit 2, the output unit 3, and the like.

Subsequently, the CPU 4 checks whether data of a program to be reservedis registered in the memory 5. If data of a program to be reserved isregistered, the CPU 4 reads out reservation time data, i.e., reservationstart time data and reservation end time data registered in the startaddress of a data area of programs to be reserved (step S2). The CPU 4,acting as said determining means compares the readout reservation timedata from the memory 5 with current time data, and determines whether acurrent time indicated by the current time data falls within apredetermined channel select allowable range of a reservation timeindicated by the reservation time data (step S3). That is, as shown inFIG. 5, the CPU 4 determines whether the current time falls within therange of a predetermined time interval (reservation allowable range: Ta)before a reservation start time, e.g., within several minutes before thereservation start time and within the range of the reservation starttime to the reservation end time. If the current time falls outside thispredetermined channel select allowable range, the CPU 4 checks whetherall of reserved program data registered in the memory 5 are completelychecked (step S4). If checking of all the reserved program dataregistered in the memory 5 is not completed, the CPU 4 reads outreservation time data registered in the next address of the reservedprogram data area of the memory 5 (step S5). The flow returns to stepS3, and the CPU 4 similarly checks whether the current time falls withina predetermined channel select allowable range of the readoutreservation time data (step S3). Note that the reservation allowablerange Ta may be either registered in the ROM of the CPU 4 beforehand orregistered in the memory 5 by a user.

If the current time is determined to falls within the predeterminedchannel select allowable range of the reservation time in step S3, theCPU 4 serves as a control means for controlling the system to allow thereceiving unit 2 to receive a broadcasting electric wave having afrequency indicated by the reserved channel number registered in thememory 5 in correspondence with the reservation time data, and causesthe output unit 3 to output a broadcasting signal of the reservedchannel number received by the receiving unit 2 in the form of a displayoutput and a voice output, or a voice output alone (step S6).

If no reserved program data to be selected is found although the currenttime falls outside the predetermined channel select allowable range ofthe reservation time in step S3 and all the reserved program dataregistered in the memory 5 are completely checked in step S4, the CPU 4instructs the receiving unit 2 to select a channel, which is setimmediately before the power source is switched on, as a channel to beselected. The CPU 4 thus causes the receiving unit 2 to receive abroadcasting signal of that channel and the output unit 3 to output thereceived signal (step S7).

If, therefore, data of a program to be reserved is registered beforehandin the memory 5 and the power ON/OFF key 14 is turned on during a timeinterval falling within the predetermined channel select allowable rangeof a reservation time indicated by that reserved program data, it ispossible to select a broadcasting station of a channel indicated by areserved channel number registered in correspondence with thereservation time data and to output the broadcasting signal of thatchannel. Therefore, a listener or viewer need only store in advancechannel number data and reservation time data corresponding to a desiredprogram in the memory 5 and turn on the power ON/OFF key 14 near thereservation time. This makes it possible to automatically select abroadcasting station of a channel indicated by the preset reservedchannel number. As a result, it is possible to omit a conventionalcumbersome manipulation of switching on the power source and thenselecting a channel of a desired program. It is also possible to omit anoperation of canceling a timer reservation function when a program endsand to eliminate unnecessary processing of keeping a power source ON bythe timer reservation function when, for example, a user is absent. Thisimproves the operability of the broadcasting receiving apparatus.

According to this embodiment, when data of a program to be reserved isregistered and the power source is switched on at a time within thepredetermined channel select allowable range of a reservation time, itis possible to select a channel registered in correspondence with thereservation time and output a broadcasting signal of that channel.Therefore, a listener or viewer need only store a channel and areservation time of a desired program in the memory and switch on thepower near the reservation time. This makes it possible to automaticallyselect the preset channel. As a result, it is possible to omit aconventional cumbersome manipulation of switching on the power sourceand then selecting a channel. It is also possible to omit an operationof canceling a timer reservation function and to eliminate unnecessaryprocessing of keeping the power ON when, for example, a user is absent.This improves the operability of the broadcasting receiving apparatus.

Another embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIGS. 6 to 10 are views showing another embodiment of a broadcastingreceiving apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is ablock diagram showing a broadcasting receiving apparatus 21 of thisembodiment. The broadcasting receiving apparatus 21 comprises an antenna22, a tuner 23, a VIF (Video Intermediate Frequency) unit 24, amicroprocessor 25, an error detector 26, a text VRAM (Video-RAM) 27, aCG (character generator) 28, a display controller 29, a display 30, aCPU 31, a memory 32, a keyboard 33, a clock generator 34, a frequencydivider 35, and a power source 36. This broadcasting receiving apparatus21 can receive at least teletext broadcasting or repetitive broadcastingof programs of a particular item.

The power source 36 converts power supplied from an external powersource or a battery (not shown) into a predetermined DC voltage andsupplies the voltage to the individual sections of the broadcastingreceiving apparatus 21. The power source 36 receives a control signalfrom the CPU 31 and starts or stops supply of the power in accordancewith the input control signal.

In the broadcasting receiving apparatus 21, the antenna 22 receives abroadcasting electric wave, and the broadcasting electric wave receivedby the antenna 22 is supplied to the tuner 23. The tuner 23 is aso-called electronic tuner constituted by coils, capacitors, resistors,and the like, and operates under the control of the CPU 31. The tuner 23tunes to an electric wave having a frequency instructed by the CPU 31,extracts a signal having the frequency, and supplies the signal to theVIF unit 24.

The VIF unit 24 is constituted by, e.g., a demodulator and a detector.The VIF unit 24 performs demodulation and detection for the input signalfrom the tuner 23 and extracts a video signal component from the signal.

The microprocessor 25 comprises an A/D converter, a buffer, a decoder,and the like. The microprocessor 25 causes the A/D converter to convertthe input analog video signal from the VIF unit 24 into a digital signaland stores the digital signal in the buffer. The microprocessor 25 alsocauses the decoder to decode the input signal into character data.

The digital signals stored in the buffer of the microprocessor 25 aresequentially extracted and sent to the error detector 26. The errordetector 26 detects the number of errors in the signals and suppliesinformation indicating the detected number of errors to themicroprocessor 25 and the CPU 31.

The text VRAM 27 stores data representing the positions and sizes ofcharacters on the display screen and character code data under thecontrol of the CPU 31.

The CG 28 stores data representing display dot patterns corresponding tothe respective sizes and codes. Upon receiving the data of the sizes andthe codes from the text VRAM 27, the CG 28 supplies a signal of thecorresponding dot patterns to the display controller 29.

The display controller 29 is constituted by an entry sequence counterand a display position control circuit. The display controller 29generates a position signal and a display signal such that the input dotpattern arrays from the CG 28 are sequentially displayed from the upperleft position to the lower right position of the display screen, andsupplies the signals to the display 30.

The display 30 comprises a Y-driver 41, an X-driver 42, and an LCD(Liquid Crystal Display) 43. The LCD 43 is driven by drive signals fromthe Y-driver 41 and the X-driver 42. On the basis of the input positionand display signals from the display controller 29, the Y-driver 41 andthe X-driver 42 output, to the LCD 43, drive signals for controllingON/OFF operations for individual coordinate points of the LCD 43. In theLCD 43, display pixels are arranged in a dot matrix manner and turned on(e.g., displayed in black) or turned off (not displayed) in accordancewith the drive signals from the Y-driver 41 and the X-driver 42.

The CPU 31 comprises, e.g., a microprocessor, a ROM, and a RAM. The ROMstores programs of the broadcasting receiving apparatus 21, data ofselectable channel numbers, and frequencies corresponding to the channelnumber data. The RAM is used as a work memory. The microprocessorcontrols the individual sections of the broadcasting receiving apparatus21 in accordance with the programs stored in the ROM to cause them tofunction as the broadcasting receiving apparatus 21. The CPU 31 drivesthe power source 36 on the basis of reservation data registered in thememory 32 (to be described later), thereby controlling start/stop ofpower supply. The CPU 31 also causes the memory 32 to store allbroadcasting information of a reserved program. When storage ofbroadcasting information of all pages of the program into the memory 32is completed, the CPU 31 controls the power source 36 to stop powersupply. The CPU 31, therefore, serves as a control means for controllingstart/stop of power supply on the basis of reservation data andcontrolling storage of broadcasting information.

As shown in FIG. 7, the keyboard 33 includes an item select key 51, aprogram select key 52, a channel select key 53, a power ON/OFF key 54, aforward scroll key 55, a backward scroll key 56, and a reservation key47. The keyboard 33 is used to perform various operations of thebroadcasting receiving apparatus 21. The item key 51 is used to selectan item (e.g., items indicating the types of programs such as weatherforecast, traffic information, stock price information, news, andcooking) of a program to be selected, and the channel key 53 is used toselect the channel of a broadcasting station. The program select key 52is used to select a program of each channel, and the ON/OFF key 54 isused to switch on/off the power source of the broadcasting receivingapparatus 21. When the item key 51 is turned on, the scroll key 55 or 56makes it possible to scroll forward or backward, respectively, aplurality of items stored beforehand in the ROM of the CPU 31 or aplurality of items registered in the memory 32 (to be described later).When the program key 52 is turned on, the keys 55 and 56 are used toscroll selectable programs. In addition, when the channel key 53 isturned on, selectable channels can be scrolled using the keys 55 and 56.The reservation key 47 is used to reserve a program whose broadcastinginformation is to be stored in the memory 32. A program selected usingthe item key 51, the channel key 53, the program key 52, and the scrollkeys 55 and 56 can be registered in the memory 32 by the reservation key47. That is, after a user selects a program to be reserved by using theabove keys, he or she turns on the reservation key 47. As a result, dataof the selected program is registered as reservation data in the memory32.

The memory 32 comprises a RAM and the like and stores reservation datadescribed above or broadcasting information of programs designated bythe reservation data. As shown in FIG. 8, the memory 32 is divided intostorage areas for a channel number, a program number, a broadcastingstart time, current time data, a reception start time, a data header,and received data. Channel number data, program number data, andbroadcasting time data indicating the broadcasting time of the programare written in the channel number area, the program number area, and thebroadcasting start time area, respectively, by operating the keyboard33. That is, when a user turns on the channel key 53, correspondingchannel number data is read out from the ROM and displayed on the LCD43. If the displayed channel number is not a desired channel number, theuser manipulates the scroll keys 55 and 56 to scroll channel numbers tobe displayed. When a desired channel number is displayed on the LCD 43,the user selects the displayed channel number. When the channel numberis selected, the CPU 31 stores data indicating the selected channelnumber into the predetermined channel storage area of the memory 32. Theuser then selects a program number in the same manner as describedabove. That is, he or she turns on the program key 52 and uses thescroll keys 55 and 56 to display a desired program number on the LCD 43.When the desired program number is displayed, the user selects thedisplayed program number. Data indicating the selected program number isstored in the program number storage area of the memory 32. Afterselecting the program number, the user enters a broadcasting time of theprogram from the keyboard 33. The input broadcasting time is written inthe broadcasting start time storage area. In response to the inputbroadcasting start time, the CPU 31 subtracts a time sufficient to startreception of the program corresponding to the broadcasting start timefrom the broadcasting start time, and writes the resulting difference asa reception start time in the reception start time storage area. Notethat a current time calculated by the CPU 31 on the basis of inputclocks from the frequency divider 35 is written in the current time dataarea.

As shown in FIG. 9, the data header storage area of the memory 32stores, for example, various pieces of information related to data of agiven program, such as the total number of pages and a program datalength. The received data storage area sequentially stores broadcastingcontents (broadcasting information) of a program page by page.

The memory 32, therefore, serves as a reservation data storing meanscapable of storing, as reservation data, a reserved channel number, areserved program name in the reserved channel number, and a reservationtime of the reserved program, and also functions as a broadcastinginformation storing means for storing broadcasting contents of areserved program.

The clock generator 34 is a so-called quartz oscillator constituted by aquartz crystal, resistors, capacitors, and the like. The clock generator34 generates a clock signal having a predetermined frequency.

The frequency divider 35 is constituted by, e.g., combining severalstages of binary counters. The frequency divider frequency-divides theinput clock signal from the clock generator 34 to generate a 1-Hz clocksignal usable as a reference signal for a timepiece and supplies thesignal to the CPU 31. The CPU 31 counts a current time in accordancewith the input clock signal from the frequency divider 35 and causes theLCD 43 to display the current time. The CPU 31 also uses this clocksignal in various control operations, such as ON/OFF control of thepower source 36 of the broadcasting receiving apparatus 21.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

Since the broadcasting receiving apparatus 21 can display a currenttime, the apparatus displays a current time on the LCD 43 when it doesnot receive broadcasting.

That is, while the ON/OFF key 54 of the keyboard 33 is kept OFF, the CPU31 of the broadcasting receiving apparatus 21 counts a current time inaccordance with the input clock signal from the frequency divider 35,determines a display position, and supplies information of the currenttime to a corresponding position of the text VRAM 27. The text VRAM 27transfers the current time information to the display controller 29 viathe CG 28, thereby displaying the current time at a predeterminedposition of the LCD 43.

When the ON/OFF key 54 of the keyboard 33 is turned on in thiscondition, the CPU 31 supplies a control signal (e.g., a signal of "H")C instructing an ON operation to the power source 36. Upon receiving thecontrol signal C instructing an ON operation, the power source 36supplies power to the tuner 23, the VIF unit 24, the microprocessor 25,and the error detector 26. The CPU 31 also supplies a reset signal tothe microprocessor 25 to cause the microprocessor 25 to performinitialization. When the initialization is completed, the tuner 23extracts a signal having a frequency corresponding to a predeterminedchannel from broadcasting electric waves received by the antenna 22, andthe VIF unit 24 performs demodulation and detection for the extractedsignal. Thereafter, a video signal corresponding to a program designatedby the CPU 31 is selected and output to the microprocessor 25. Themicroprocessor 25 converts the video signal into a digital signal usingthe A/D converter and stores the signal in the buffer in units of scanlines. The stored signal is then transferred to the error detector 26and subjected to error signal detection performed by the detector 26.The error detector 26 outputs the detected number of errors to themicroprocessor 25 and the CPU 31. If the number of errors falls withinan error recoverable range, the microprocessor 25 decodes the signal byusing the internal decoder and supplies the decoded signal to the textVRAM 27. The text VRAM 27 sequentially supplies data of character codesand sizes in an order from the upper left position to the lower rightposition of the display screen to the CG 28. The CG 28 supplies patterndata corresponding to the input data from the text VRAM 27 to thedisplay controller 29. The display controller 29 determines displaypositions and display contents and controls the Y-driver 41 and theX-driver 42. The Y-driver 41 and the X-driver 42 output drive signals todisplay the corresponding contents at the corresponding positions of theLCD 43.

In this manner, when the ON/OFF key 54 is turned on, the broadcastingreceiving apparatus 21 displays the contents of a preset channel on theLCD 43. However, if the displayed contents are not the contents(program) of interest, a user can change the program by operating thekeyboard 33.

A normal program change operation is performed by manipulating theprogram key 52 or the channel key 53 of the keyboard 33. That is, inorder to change the program number, a user can sequentially changeprogram numbers by turning on the program key 52 and manipulating thescroll keys 55 and 56. In order to change the channel number, a user cansequentially change channel numbers by turning on the channel key 53 andmanipulating the scroll keys 55 and 56. In this case, the CPU 31supplies channel number data indicating the selected channel number tothe tuner 23 to cause the tuner 23 to extract an electric wave of abroadcasting station corresponding to the channel number. The CPU 31also supplies program number data indicating the program number to themicroprocessor 25 to cause the microprocessor 25 to select a videosignal corresponding to the program number and to perform decoding anddisplay processing for the video signal. The selection performed by auser is completed when a program number in a desired channel number isdisplayed.

Broadcasting such as teletext broadcasting, however, in which abroadcasting program concerning a specific item, e.g., weather forecastor traffic information is repeatedly broadcasted on a plurality ofchannels at the same time, the contents of one broadcasting program areconstituted by a plurality of pages.

In this embodiment, therefore, in order to efficiently receive such ateletext broadcasting program with a low consumption power, thebroadcasting contents of a reserved program are stored in the memory 32.In addition, when storage of all the broadcasting contents of theprogram is completed, power supply to the individual circuits isstopped.

That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the CPU 31 checks in a power-OFF conditionwhether a reservation mode is set for each predetermined time set inadvance (step H1). If the reservation mode is set, the CPU 31 reads outreservation data stored in the memory 32 (step H2) and checks whether acurrent time has reached a stored reception start time (step H3). If thecurrent time has not reached the stored reception start time yet, theflow returns to step H1, and the CPU 31 again checks the reservationmode and the current time.

If the current time has reached the stored reception start time in stepH3, the CPU 31 instructs the power source 36 to supply power to theindividual circuits. In response to this instruction, the power source36 starts supplying power to the circuits, such as the tuner 23, the VIF24 unit, and the microprocessor 25 (step H4). When power supply isstarted, the CPU 31 controls the tuner 23 and the microprocessor 25 onthe basis of the reservation data read out from the memory 32, therebysequentially performing reception of a reserved program and extractionof character data from the program signal. The sequentially receivedcontents of the teletext broadcasting are stored page by page in thereceived data storage area of the memory 32 (step H5). When storage ofthe contents of one page of the teletext broadcasting is completed, theCPU 31 checks whether reception of broadcasting contents of all pages ofthe broadcasting program is completed and storage of the receivedcontents into the memory 32 is completed (step H6). If reception of thebroadcasting contents of all pages of the program and storage of thereceived contents into the memory 32 are not completed, the flow returnsto step H5, and reception of the broadcasting contents of the next pageand storage of the received contents into the memory 32 are performed.

When reception of the broadcasting contents of all pages and storage ofthe received contents into the memory 32 are completed, the CPU 31 readsout reception completion message data stored beforehand in the ROM orthe like and displays the readout reception completion message data,such as "recording of a reserved program is completed", on the LCD 43,thereby informing completion of recording (step H7). Note that thiscompletion information is not limited to a message displayed on the LCD43 but may be a buzzer or a completion message output in the form of avoice. Alternatively, these information forms may be provided in acombination of two or more of them.

In response to this completion information, the CPU 31 instructs thepower source 36 to stop power supply to the individual circuits. Inaccordance with this instruction for power supply stop, the power source36 stops supplying the power to the circuits, such as the tuner 23, theVIF 24 unit, and the microprocessor 25 (step H8).

As described above, when a user reserves a desired program in advance,broadcasting contents of all pages of the reserved program are stored inthe memory 32. In addition, when storage of the broadcasting contents ofthe broadcasting program is completed, completion information is outputupon completion of storage, and supply of a power source current fromthe power source to the individual circuits is stopped, therebyswitching off the power source 36 of the broadcasting receivingapparatus 21. Therefore, the broadcasting contents that the user intendsto watch later can be reliably stored in the memory 32. In addition,since completion information is output when storage of the broadcastingcontents into the memory 32 is completed, the user can immediatelyacquire necessary broadcasting contents from the stored broadcastingcontents of all pages upon receiving the completion information.Furthermore, when storage of the broadcasting contents into the memory32 is completed, the power source of the broadcasting receivingapparatus 21 is switched off upon completion of storage. As a result,unnecessary supply of a power source current to the individual circuitsis prevented to reduce power consumption. This makes it feasible toapply the present invention to a portable broadcasting receivingapparatus.

According to the above embodiment, when a listener or viewer registers aprogram to be reserved and the start time of the program in the memory32, power supply is automatically started, and broadcasting contents ofall pages of the reserved program are received and stored in the memory32. When storage of the broadcasting contents of all the pages iscompleted, the power supply is stopped. As a result, it is possible toimmediately and reliably store necessary information in the memory 32and to use the stored information. It is also possible to saveconsumption power, and this makes it possible to apply the broadcastingreceiving apparatus of the present invention to a portable broadcastingreceiving apparatus in which a low power consumption is an absolutecondition.

In addition, according to this embodiment, when storage of allbroadcasting contents of a reserved program of interest into the memory32 is completed, a user is informed of this completion. Therefore, he orshe can confirm the completion of storage of necessary broadcastingcontents into the memory 32 and can therefore immediately acquirenecessary information.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects isnot limited to the specific details, and representative devices,illustrated examples shown and described herein. Accordingly, variousmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A broadcasting receiving apparatuscomprising:receiving means for receiving a broadcasting electric wave;setting means for setting, as reservation time data, a broadcastingstart time of a broadcasting program to be broadcasted by means of thebroadcasting electric wave received by said receiving means; currenttime counting means for counting a current time; power source means forsupplying a power source current to individual circuits of abroadcasting receiving apparatus main body including said receivingmeans; manually operable power switching means for selectivelyinstructing an on and an off condition of said power source means; andcontrol means including:means for determining, when said manuallyoperable power switching means is operated manually to instruct an oncondition of said power source means, whether a current time counted bysaid current time counting means is equal to or close to a reservationtime indicated by the reservation time data set by said setting means;and means for controlling said power source means such that when saiddetermining means determines that said current time is equal to or closeto said reservation time, a power source current is automaticallysupplied to the individual circuits of said broadcasting receivingapparatus main body and to said receiving means to enable a broadcastingelectric wave to be received, and for further controlling said powersource means so as not to start supply of the power source current tothe individual circuits of said broadcasting receiving apparatus mainbody when said determining means determines that said current time isneither equal to nor sufficiently close to said reservation time.
 2. Abroadcasting receiving apparatus comprising:receiving means forreceiving broadcasting electric waves from a plurality of broadcastingstations; channel selecting means for selecting a broadcasting electricwave of one broadcasting station from the broadcasting electric wavesreceived by said receiving means; setting means for setting channelnumber data indicating a broadcasting station to be selected by saidchannel selecting means, for setting and reservation time dataindicating a reservation time at which the broadcasting stationindicated by the channel number data is to be selected; current timecounting means for counting a current time; power source means forsupplying a power source current to individual circuits of abroadcasting receiving apparatus main body including said receivingmeans; manually operable power switching means for selectivelyinstructing an on and an off condition of said power source means; andcontrol means including:means for determining, when said manuallyoperable power switching means is operated manually to instruct an oncondition of said power source means, whether a current time counted bysaid current time counting means is equal to or close to a reservationtime indicated by the reservation time data set by said setting means;and means for controlling said power source means such that when saiddetermining means determines that said current time is equal to or closeto said reservation time, a power source current is automaticallysupplied to the individual circuits of said broadcasting receivingapparatus main body and to said channel selecting means to automaticallyselect the broadcasting station indicated by the channel number data setby said setting means, and for further controlling said power sourcemeans so as not to start supply of the power source current to theindividual circuits of said broadcasting receiving apparatus main bodywhen said determining means determines that said current time is neitherequal to nor sufficiently close to said reservation time.
 3. Abroadcasting receiving apparatus comprising:receiving means forreceiving broadcasting electric waves from a plurality of broadcastingstations; channel selecting means for selecting a broadcasting electricwave of one broadcasting station from the broadcasting electric wavesreceived by said receiving means; setting means for setting, asreservation data for each broadcasting station, channel number dataindicating a broadcasting station to be selected by said channelselecting means and reservation time data indicating a reservation timeat which the broadcasting station indicated by the channel number datais to be selected; current time counting means for counting a currenttime; power source means for supplying a power source current toindividual circuits of a broadcasting receiving apparatus main bodyincluding said receiving means; manually operable power switching meansfor selectively instructing an on and an off condition of said powersource means; and control means including:means for first determining,when said manually operable power switching means is operated manuallyto instruct an on condition of said power source means, whether acurrent time counted by said current time counting means is equal to orclose to a given reservation time indicated by the reservation time dataof one of a plurality of pieces of reservation data set by said settingmeans; means for controlling, when it is determined that said currenttime is equal to or close to said given reservation time, said powersource means to automatically start supply of a power source current tothe individual circuits of said broadcasting receiving apparatus mainbody; said channel selecting means automatically selecting abroadcasting station indicated by the channel number data of thecorresponding reservation data; and said control means furtherincluding:means for determining, when it is first determined that saidcurrent time is not equal to nor close to said given reservation time,whether said current time is equal to or close to another reservationtime indicated by another reservation time data of any one of aplurality of pieces of reservation data set by said setting means; andmeans for controlling, when it is determined that said current time isequal to or close to said another reservation time indicated byreservation time data of another one of said plurality of reservationdata, said power source means to automatically start supply of a powersource current to the individual circuits of said broadcasting receivingapparatus main body and to said channel selecting means to automaticallyselect a broadcasting station indicated by the channel number data ofthe corresponding another reservation time data.
 4. An apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein said control means further comprises meansfor controlling, when it is determined that said current time is notequal to nor close to a reservation time indicated by reservation timedata of any of a plurality of reservation data set by said settingmeans, said channel selecting means to automatically select abroadcasting station set before said power source means starts supplyinga power source current.